Moods, moods, moods. They are so annoying. I have been feeling very down again and other than the ups and downs of my work, I can’t pinpoint anything to find a reason. I suppose the reason is my own humanity – and that just sucks sometimes. Oh, do I long for the future when my entire consciousness can be uploaded into a machine – or maybe I don’t….

On brighter things, I need a pick me up, so I am going to list the things in my life that I am grateful for; big or small and in no particular order.

Family – Christine, Avery, Adelaide and Arleigh to start. Cuddles, silliness and adventure. We got Adelaide a new big yesterday and she can ride it like a demon already. I think we are going to go and ride the roads at Elbow Falls, because they are blocked to cars until May. Care to join us? Adelaide has also asked to do a bike ride for her birthday. We are going to do the 24 km ride from Banff to Canmore.

The rest of my family – my Dad and Lorraine, Christine’s parents, my stepbrother and every aunt, uncle and cousin – provide an important grounding and base

Humans – the friends, friends that are family, the people who meet my children and we call uncle and aunty, my colleagues, these are the people that are making the world a better place

My job(s) – Foundation CEO, Library External Relations Guy and FAT Project Founder – I led the effort last year to rebrand the Library and the was such an awesome opportunity

My ideas – those who have spent time with me in person, know that I have a lot of ideas swirling through my brain, some of them actually good. They really bring me joy.

Singing – Most people don’t want to hear it, but I love to sing

Being open – go ahead, ask me anything…. I like being open and public, extroverted and putting on a show, regardless of the venue

My Smart Car – the thing is ridiculous and that is what brings me such joy. It can park anywhere. I just get a smile driving that thing

Weird things in general – anything that strikes me as out of the ordinary or weird. The geeky, the crazy… standing out makes me happy.

I really like chewing. Very satisfying using my teeth to ground up solid food.On the other hand I really like the taste of smoothies, but I really miss that solid food thing….

Nutrient wise, I feel smoothies are mostly good – just solid food chopped up really small, as opposed to juicing which removes the fibre. I think though that I would rather get my food from solid fruits and vegetables. Thoughts?

When you are fat, there is more of you to love and consequently more to hug. Hug a big friend today, you will glad you did.

I was doing a mini-presentation at a CON-YYC event about the patient experience as a sufferer of obesity. One of the participant asked me how they help connect with a patient who is really struggling. My answer was simple, give them a hug. Their obese and overweight patients are just people who use food to cope with the challenges and stresses of life. The only thing wrong with that it has gone too far. So many people who have other coping mechanisms like alcohol and drugs can hide it way easier.

More love, more kindness and ultimately more empathy is how you begin to stop the obesity challenge that we face in our society.

Alright, I think it is official. I had eggs (Egg white specifically), 3 days ago for breakfast and it took until today to not feel achy. A muscle achiness that affects my entire body but is especially bad when I wake up and have to hobble to the washroom in the morning. It is also bad if I am sitting somewhere or driving for any length of time. Now that the egg is out of my system I feel way better.

I wouldn’t be surprised my often felt achiness even when I don’t eat eggs separately could be a result of eggs in other foods. I am going to have to test that theory.

Interestingly, this makes me really sad. Probably the saddest(in a genuine way as opposed to a malaise or being down), I have been on this journey so far. I don’t want to stop eating eggs. They are completely fabulous and delicious to me and to not ever have them again sucks. But I also need to listen to my body and respect its needs. Eating mindfully for these last 156 days (https://days.to/9-october/2015), has made it very clear to me that while my body is very malleable in terms of what nutrients it can use, things that cause disruption must be avoided.

The eggs make it so bad that it greatly reduces all my physical activity, leaves me grumpier and tired and generally just makes life so much harder. Waking up not feeling sore and achy is such a privilege and I want to go back to that. Do you have food allergy or intolerances that make you feel terrible?